Jersey Mike

This post really shouldn’t require much of an explanation, but with the Sunday morning, eleventh-hour press conference held by Governor Rendell and “Mayor” Thompson about the state bailout (it IS a bailout)yesterday combined with the announcement of a HUGE lawsuit filed by TD Bank against the City and the half a million dollars we’re short on payroll and the looming clouds of bankruptcy gathering up the Susquehanna River, I thought it was a great time to suggest a new theme song for Our Fair City.

So here, in no particular order, are my Top Ten Potential Theme Songs for The City of Harrisburg. ©

Tennessee Ernie Williams- Sixteen Tons
You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store

Merle Haggard- Working Man Blues
Sometimes I think about leaving, do a little bummin around
I wanna throw my bills out the window catch a train to another town
But I go back working I gotta buy my kids a brand new pair of shoes
Yeah drink a little beer in a tavern,
Cry a little bit of these working man blues

Desmond Dekker – The Israelites
Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir,
so that every mouth can be fed.
Poor me, the Israelite. Aah.

Cast of Annie – It’s A Hard Knock For Us
It’s the hard-knock life for us
It’s the hard-knock life for us
No one cares for you a smidge
When your in an orphanage
It’s the hard-knock life
It’s the hard-knock life
It’s the hard-knock life!

Elvis Presley – In The Ghetto
Then one night in desperation
a young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car,
tries to run, but he don’t get far
And his mama cries

As a crowd gathers ’round an angry young man
face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto

Steve Miller Band- Take The Money and Run
Billy mack is a detective down in texas
You know he knows just exactly what the facts is
He aint gonna let those two escape justice
He makes his livin off of the peoples taxes

Bobbie sue, whoa, whoa, she slipped away
Billy joe caught up to her the very next day
They got the money, hey
You know they got away
They headed down south and they’re still running today

The Beatles- Taxman
(if you drive a car, car;) – I’ll tax the street;
(if you try to sit, sit;) – I’ll tax your seat;
(if you get too cold, cold;) – I’ll tax the heat;
(if you take a walk, walk;) – I’ll tax your feet.

Bruce Springsteen and The Sessions Band – Pay Me My Money Down
Oh pay me, oh pay me,
Pay me my money down,
Pay me or go to jail,
Pay me my money down

Rolling Stones – You Can’t Always Get What You Want –
And I went down to the demonstration
To get my fair share of abuse
Singing, “We’re gonna vent our frustration
If we don’t we’re gonna blow a 50-amp fuse”

P. Diddy, Puffy Puff Daddy – All About The Benjamins
You should do what we do, stack chips like *Hebrews*
Don’t let the melody intrigue you (uh-uh)
Cause I leave you, I’m only here
for that green paper which lead you

There’s been a lot of talk about who’s going to be a shoe-in for council and who’s got the least chance of winning their way into one of most important election cycles in the past decade for the City of Harrisburg.

So, here’s an unofficial poll- the Jersey Mike City Council Poll-

Sure, it’s not scientific.

And it may possibly be skewed from the concentration of my readers.

But it’s something to look at.

Pick four. Be honest. Try to vote only once.

Perhaps it’s my own delusions of grandeur, but I feel compelled to write this piece regarding the upcoming City Council/Mayoral Elections.

You see, about two years ago, I danced around the idea of throwing my hat in the ring and making a run for a seat on Harrisburg City Council, but decided that, at the time, I just wasn’t ready to make that commitment.

Instead, I dedicated much of my time in the months and weeks leading up to the primary (and subsuquently, the election) to campaigning hard for Susan Brown-Wilson, Gloria Martn-Roberts and Kia Hansard. Ultimately, it came out as two-outta-three-ain’t-bad and we retained Wilson and Roberts and accepted Brad in the third elected position.

And about six months ago, I started kicking around the idea of taking a run at a council seat for this coming election.

I’ve grown to fully understand how our local council is run and absolutely believe that I can be a valuable, driving force with a seat on Harrisburg’s City Council. I understand that the only effective Council is one which communicates openly and respectfully with one another. A council that may disagree on certain items, but is level-headed and clear-thinking enough to make intelligent and progressive decisions.

And I know that the communication amongst our current city council is strained, at best and has fully melted down, at worst.

I genuinely believe that a strong, unified City Council can make all the difference in the world when it comes to the general well being of our city and I also believe that with the right people in charge, we can affect proactive change in the political, social, and general safety landscape of our City.

But this coming November, I won’t be running for Harrisburg City Council.

And it has nothing to do with confidence or ability. I’m certain that I’d muster enough support to make a splash and recalling council members of yesterday…if Vera White could be a city council president, I’m sure I’d make a pretty good Parks and Rec committee member.

However, now isn’t the right time for me to run.

I’ve got too many irons in the fire right now- and don’t feel that I’d be able to give 100% of my resources to the job. Either that or it would overtake and trump everything else I’ve been working on. And I’m not ready to quit rock and roll just yet. (Plus, I don’t want to wear a suit)

So in the coming weeks, we’l begin talking about the candidates who are running. (I know several of them personally; and have yet to learn about a few more.)

We’re going to see some surprising announcements before the first of the year regarding this upcoming race.

And I’ll be sure to offer my suggestions on who I believe will be our best bets to lead this city in the right direction over the next four years.

Stay tuned, Harrisburg. It’s gonna be a fun year.

Ready yourselves for the propoganda war which is about to begin.

(Yeah, I know. That sentence sounds mighty Darnell-esque. But seriously- enough is enough. We should all know by now that the ones touted as the “Reed Team” are the ones to avoid next fall.)